Beginning April 29, 1992, Los Angeles, Calif, was engulfed in a 3-day insurrection reflecting the residents'responses to a legal ruling.

Unlike the mediapainted picture, this article argues that the enormous outburst of violence and consequential property destruction was not the exclusive domain of the citizens of South-Central Los Angeles and that available data will not support the maintenance of the prevailing uneven distribution of civic and state resources in health care, educational programs, and economic opportunities.

What it does support is the proposal for a more equitable allocation of resources among institutions, groups, and peoples, complemented by community empowerment, a more civic-oriented police operation, and a more rational approach to social reconstruction in which all elements of the society are full participants.